Daedalus hummed in thought as he shifted back into his default form to Chrysalis’ visible delight as she leaned against him again. “It originates in my soul?”

Cadence nodded. “I have a couple questions, though, before I can try to explain why. What made you begin to feel emotions again, since you said you shouldn’t be able to? Second, why wouldn’t your body produce it instead of your soul?”

Chrysalis coughed to get her attention, then spoke in her iconic two-toned voice. “I can explain that. Not long after he arrived in our Hive, I was exhausted and starving from a short flight. Daedalus created a supply of love in himself and my instincts took over, latching onto him. Changelings have a venom in our fangs that has a dual-purpose. The first use is making ponies who are in love with another love them even more. That effect wouldn’t work on Daedalus because he wasn’t in love or even attracted to anypony at the time. The second effect is, if we are starving, we can give animals the capacity to feel emotions so we can feed off of them.”

Then Daedalus spoke. “My body wouldn’t produce it because of the fact that I have no brain. Due to my viral nature, I’m physically composed of a mass of pure virus, no blood or organs to speak of.”

Cadence nodded her thanks to Chrysalis and Daedalus, then spent a couple minutes thinking. After a time, she looked up and spoke. “I think I can explain what happened. Your venom tried to have Daedalus produce emotions, since he currently couldn’t. However, Daedalus has no brain for the venom to affect, so the venom magically altered his soul to create the emotions instead, hence him not being able to find or alter the emotions he’s experiencing.”

After a moment, Daedalus nodded with a small frown. Everyone noticed it but it was Celestia who commented on it first. “Why are you unhappy to have emotions again?”

The virus just sighed and answered the question. “I’m happy that I’m able to love and be happy again. It was also so, so draining, faking emotions in a believable way. It’s just the fact that not having emotions was useful. I felt no fear or panic in combat; no terror or worry for those I cared about. Now, though, I’m fully susceptible to emotions, the good and the bad. Rage is another that affects me, now. I felt unimaginable, murderous rage at the Bulette that hurt Chrysalis. What if I felt that to a pony?”

Cadence smiled at him again, though Shining spoke before she could, marking the first time in a bit that he had spoken. The stallion seemed to prefer listening over speaking, likely trying to gather information on Daedalus. When the Unicorn spoke, though, he sounded as if he was quoting someone. “‘Those who feel their rage and destroy it are heroes. Even as their are heroes, there are those who feel the cursed emotion and give in to it. They are the true monsters that stalk the day, no matter what side they are on.’”

Daedalus hummed in thought after thinking about that comment for some time. “Wise, accurate words. Where did you hear that, or did you come up with it?”

“One of the Guards under my command told me that after the Invasion. He had been disgusted by the atrocities Changelings had committed on ponies, just as ponies did to the Changelings. That battle had no winner and no heroes, only those who suffered and those who were monsters.” He explained, a look aimed at Chrysalis. She, for her part, looked ashamed as she looked away from him.

Cadence nudged him. “No, Shining. Chrysalis regrets what happened and seeks to makes amends. Don’t call her and her kind monsters.”

“He wasn’t calling me a monster. Not in the way your thinking.” Chrysalis said softly. “I gave in to my rage as more and more Infiltrators were discovered and executed. I invaded Canterlot, doing nothing but harm. I further isolated my Hive from Equestria, nearly permanently ruined the possibility of peace, and caused the deaths of thousands of Changelings and ponies.”

She looked back to Cadence, looking her in the eye. “Your husband wasn’t insulting me. He was giving me advice in such a way that rang true to me.”

The Queen turned her attention to Shining Armor and spoke. “Thank you for your words. I’ll make sure I don’t forget them. They were not false or inaccurate; there are no words of truer merit.”

The Unicorn nodded once, a small smile finally gracing his muzzle as he stood. “Excuse me, I want to meet with Captain Bright Mind, see who took my place and who the Guards have changed.”

Celestia smiled at him. “He’s in his office, the one that used to be yours. You know the way and you’re still welcome in the Guards’ section, of course.”

Shining nodded again and stepped out of the room, heading down a long-memorized pathway toward his old office. With his departure, Princess Celestia spoke up. “I suppose that would be a cue for this meeting to end. Daedalus, you’re still our ambassador to Sapphire Hive, I hope you understand.”

“I do, though I know not what that entails.” Daedalus said rather formally.

Celestia cracked a smile at the virus when he spoke. “You’ll have authority to negotiate trade agreements and such with the Hive, though we’ve gotten the basics down with the treaty. It’ll be your job to keep the peace, which means arresting unruly Changelings and ponies and meeting with Changelings to better relations.”

“That...seems a bit more than what an ambassador does.” Daedalus commented. “Though it might just be due to the differences in our lands.”

Celestia shook her head. “Likely not because our ambassadors don’t do this, either. We had to make some quick changes to our your authority since very few ponies are as open-minded to Changelings as we need.”

The two Alicorns stood up and straightened their necks and backs, then spoke in unison. “From this point hence, Earth pony Gene Splice is Equestria’s first Liaison of Peace, tasked with ensuring cooperation between Sapphire Hive and Equestria. His powers are limited by the liaison doctrine, written by the Diarchy of Equestria.”

Then they both smiled at him and he smirked back. “When did you two make that up?”

Luna cracked a smirk at that as well. “While you were gone. Think of yourself as a mixture of a Guard and an ambassador.”

Daedalus nodded and spoke. “And the doctrine?”

Celestia tittered lightly as she replied. “Will be given to you once it actually exists.”

That made all in the room laugh lightly, particularly Daedalus as he came to realized how much of a spur-of-the-moment decision the ‘promotion’ had been. When they quieted, Celestia continued as she levitated a small key over to Daedalus. “Since you now have a title, and will be entertaining guests, we, rather quickly, decided it would not be good for our reputation to have you living in a tavern. This is the key, and subsequent ownership, of a building on the edge of Ponyville, in the direction of Queen Chrysalis’ Hive.”

“Any Changelings I send will be able to sneak in easily, then, without altering your town of him housing guests.” Chrysalis nodded with a respectful nod.

Celestia smiled, an amused spark in her eyes. “And yourself. You are with him, now. I don’t doubt you’ll be visiting him quite often.”

Chrysalis smiled back. “I may visit, and even stay with him on occasion. If you ever see Snow Flight around Ponyville, chances are high that’s it’s me. Other Changelings don’t use that disguise.”

Celestia nodded. “I’ll keep that in mind. If I see Snow in Trotsdale, I’ll likewise assume it’s not you.”

Chrysalis nodded respectfully and the two Alicorns walked out. After a moment of silence, Chrysalis reared up slightly and draped her hooves over Daedalus, who had not yet stood. “Let’s go check out your new home, shall we?”

Daedalus smiled and stood after Chrysalis pulled herself off of him. He shifted into Gene Splice again as, moments later, Chrysalis did so into Snow Flight. The two left, heading toward the train station. Daedalus couldn’t help but feel slightly excited to live in his own home now. Chrysalis, likewise, was happy she would be able to visit him and be able to be herself without fear of a pony walking in on his tavern room and discovering a Changeling Queen.

“Remember, we went straight from the Everfree to the station to catch the earliest train to Canterlot we could in order to report to Princess Celestia. After resting and recovering, we took the train back to Ponyville two days later.” Daedalus explained, holding a train schedule in his hooves and pointing at a train that went from Canterlot to Ponyville at five in the morning.

“And your home, which is clearly going to be large and possibly walled?” Chrysalis, disguised as Snow Flight, asked.

“My new accomodations where we stage expeditions into the Everfree. After a time, we might be asked why there’s no expeditions. We’ll tell them that they were cancelled for an unknown length of time.” Daedalus explained.

“If they ask why?” Came the question he expected.

“Classified information.” Daedalus replied.

“What-oh.” Chrysalis said, making Daedalus laugh lightly. “What if they happen to ask a question we didn’t plan for? Or if they ask the same question to us separately and we give them different answers?”

“For the first, just come up with something plausible. Most ponies don’t actually have an idea of how the Guard functions and they know it. There aren’t public records and that’s no secret.” Daedalus explained, then continued. “If we get ask the same question and give different answers, we’ll act like we’re reluctant to give the answer, but say it’s a disinformation tactic.”

“What’s that?” Chrysalis asked, causing Daedalus to give her a surprised look.

“I figured you would be familiar with that. Disinformation tactics involve having several lies hiding the truth. It’s mostly used to hide an event that happened or will soon happen. If you have thirty different reports labeled the same thing, all with a completely different story, any spy reading them won’t know which is truth and thus which one should be brought back. Of course, the one who wrote the reports usually doesn’t know which one is true, either, but we will.” Daedalus explained, giving a rather simplified version of disinformation tactics. The kind of disinformation humans used was very hard to pull off but worked amazing well if done right. There could be over a hundred explanations, all considered fact, and yet none of them even approaching the truth.

The problem came when the enemy knew that disinformation was used. Daedalus had been able to bullshit his way into many Blackwatch bases because of it; all he had to do was give vague lies that seemed truthful, the grunts and even some higher ups would assume he had been fed false information, and let him in easily. Hours later, the base would be dead; figuratively and literally.

“Never heard of it.” Chrysalis replied honestly. “If you don’t mind, can you teach me more on it at a later date? Changelings are very effective at espionage and this could help us.”

Daedalus nodded. “No complaints there.”

Chrysalis just smiled and leaned against him as he spoke one more time. “And from this point on, we need to call each other by our false names. You’re Snow Flight and I’m Gene Splice, just as the Princesses know.”

Chrysalis nodded and began to try to drift off in his warmth again only to be interrupted by a loud whistle that echoed through the enclosed space, followed shortly by a loud shout. “Stopping in Ponyville in five minutes! Take everything with you and disembark peacefully!”

Daedalus chuckled and replied, even though the pony had already left the cart. “That’s easy. We brought nothing and this car is empty.”

Chrysalis groaned and sat up, rubbing her eyes lightly, then looked to Daedalus in slight concern. “You really don’t mind me staying for a while?”

“Chrysalis, I care for you.” Daedalus replied simply. “Spending more time with you will allow that care to deepen, something I would happily let happen. I have no problems with you staying with me.”

Then he added with a smirk. “It’ll also help to make that house feel less massive.”

Chrysalis chuckled and lightly tapped his head with her hoof, then smiled. “Good. I don’t know how long I’ll be staying but I’ve already asked my assistant to teleport my paperwork to me later today. Being a Changeling ruler does have a benefit to it; I can do my job from a distance just as easily as I would face to face.”

Daedalus felt the train begin to slow down and spoke quickly. “Time to don our personas.”

Gene Splice nodded to himself as the train came to a stop and the two stood. The doors slid open and the pair quickly departed and stepped off of the open-air station. He looked around and saw a Town Guard beckoning him so he walked over, followed closely by Snow Flight. When he stopped by, the Guard’s horn lit as a short range bubble was placed over them. From the lack of noise coming from outside, it was clearly a soundproofing spell. “Liaison Gene and Ambassador Snow?”

The pair nodded and he spoke again. “I’ll escort you to the Liaison’s home and workplace. I was tasked with explaining the multitude of enchantments throughout the house and walls as well as the purpose of each room and who will generally expected to use them. If you’ll follow me.”

Then the barrier dropped and the three began walking, heading toward the southern edge of Ponyville. After a time, the buildings petered out quickly and a slight rise was a few hundred meters outside of Ponyville. On top of it was a medium-sized two-story building, though the bottom floor was concealed by a small wall. As they approached the building, their guide began speaking. “This is the ‘Peace Estate,’ not a creative name but that’s the point. It’s short, simple, and gets right to the reason for its existence. Its alias is the ‘Expedition Staging Point.’ In all public records, that’s what it appears as. In royal documents, the truth is revealed.”

“So the existence of this peace agreement and the purpose of this building is a Crown secret?” Gene asked, to which the Guard nodded.

“It is. The public and most Guards will be unaware to the nature of this building and the nature of you both.” He answered, then glanced at the two. “With the exception of a few Guards that can trust Changelings, such as myself.”

“So you’re entirely aware of the truth of this building, myself, and Snow?” Gene asked again.

“You’re a virus, Snow’s a Changeling Queen, and this place is a way for you to ensure the peace between Equestria and the Sapphire Hive. I’m privy to the information at Princess Celestia’s discretion.” The Guard explained, making Gene and Snow share a glance.

“Anyway, the wall is enchanted with a nullify and force redirection spell. Any magic or physical attack that hits it is countered. Magic becomes useless, simply fading away. Anything physical that hits it bounces back at the extra trajectory it came from, likely hitting whatever launched it. Attacks of a certain strength will ignore the spell so be careful. The courtyard and the wall walkways both have a sensory spell attached, directed to you, Gene. Anytime there’s someone there, you’ll be alerted. It’ll be simple, just knowing it’s there, but it won’t be forgettable.” He continued.

The pair and their escort reached the front gate, a thick oak door, and watched as it was magically opened. “When opened, the gate will prevent those actively hostile to you from entering. If they don’t like you, they can walk in. If they plan to hurt you, they’ll be stopped as if the gate is still closed. Be careful; the drawback to the spell is they can enter if they don’t want to hurt you, but if they get angry while inside and then want to, they’re already in. It’s also lockable by your key as well as the Guards’ key.”

Gene nodded as they entered the courtyard. The open area was simple yet some thought was clearly put into its creation. Two tiered fountains flanked the front path, spewing water out of the tops before cascading down three levels to hit the bottom again. A few trees casted shade around, bathing a gazebo in cooler air. “Thanks for the warning. What about inside?”

“The entire house is enchanted with the same pair of spells as the wall so it’ll be hard, but not impossible, to knock down. Most of the rooms have teleportation wards stopping Unicorns from just getting in. There’s a crystal in your office that will allow you to give certain magical signals free roam. The Princesses and the Captain already have that. In case of an emergency, an impending teleport is halted and you’ll be alerted to the attempt, as well as who did it and where it came from. If you accept it, they’ll be allowed to go through with the teleport.”

Then the Unicorn glanced at Gene. “This is all tailored to your lack of magic, by the way. It’ll work like telepathy. You’ll be asked coherent questions and allowed to reply mentally. The Princesses did it themselves when they weren’t busy with Court. Princess Celestia at night and Princess Luna during the day.”

“They made this place a fortress.” Gene commented at that, making the pony nod.

“They did. They wanted to make sure the peace couldn’t be sabotaged if the nature of it was ever discovered.” Came the expected reply. “There’s another sensory spell over the entire building. You’ll be able to alter the spell so certain signatures don’t alert you, and you can reverse that as well, re-adding signatures or prioritizing them.”

“What’s the building itself like?” Snow asked. “The interior, I mean.”

They approached the front door, a dark oak door emblazoned with the emblems of a sun and moon. The door swung open at the behest of their guide’s horn and the three entered. The front room was clearly an entry room. Two doors sat on the left and right walls and a staircase spiraled up the back of the room, obviously going to the second floor. To his surprise, he couldn’t see up the staircase. It seemed to be just a shimmering barrier of color. The Guard began speaking as soon as they entered, pointed to the left when he mentioned it. “This is the foyer where you’ll greet any guests. The first floor is the accomodations floor. To the left is the living room. There you’ll find two doors. One leads to a dining room with an attached kitchen, the other to a bathroom.”

Then he swung his hoof across the room, pointing to the right door. “That leads down a hallway. There are six doors on each side, totaling twelve. They’re for the Guards that will eventually patrol this place. Two bathrooms are at the back of the hallway. They are all empty, though I’ll be moving in to one in a few days.”

The two nodded and he led the way toward the stairs. “This barrier will, once again, stop anyone with hostile intentions to you or anyone else here. It’s in place to block anyone who might have flown or climbed over the wall instead of walking through the gate, or changed their disposition since entering.”

They passed through the barrier where they were greeted by what seemed to be a simple relaxation room, three doors leading from the room. “The upper floor is soundproofed from the lower one, and so is your room and the office, Liaison. Any meetings you hold are private and will remain as such.”

“This room is a more private living room where your high priority guests might relax and mingle in comfort without fear of being attacked. The ground floor can neither see nor hear up here. To the right is another small hallway leading to twelve more ornate guest bedrooms; it’s where your guests will sleep. Left is another dining room and attached kitchen. The one below is for casual or Guard use while this one is for the beings that this house was built. You may have noticed that it mirrors the ground floor in detail.”

The guide led them to the door across from the staircase. “This door is magically and physically locked, opened only by the key you have and any spares you make. The other doors in the house can be locked by your key as well as another key for general Guard and servant usage.”

Gene nodded and unlocked the door with the relatively large steel key he had been given. After he removed the key, he gave the door a light push and it swung open on silent hinges, hinting at the magic in its making. Their guide stepped forward again and led the way into a much longer hallway. Two doors sat on the right, two on the left, and one at the very end. “The first door on the left are a small library with copies of books that you may find useful. The last door on the left is your office, locked and accessed by your key. Inside is the gem that allows you to affect the spells wrapped around the estate. The first door on the right is a blank room, likely for testing. I’ve been told it’s been magically reinforced but it’s ultimate use is up to you. The second door on the right is a storage room, blank for now until you decide what you want to store. The door is also controlled by only your key.”

“Finally, the door at the end of the hall leads to your bedroom. Attached is a walk-in closet and a large bathroom. The room’s window faces south, the direction that any Changelings will come from, and their subsequently disguised door. It radiates a magic that only Changelings can find and can only be opened by a Changeling. It’s also protected by the same spell the gate and stairwell are.” The Guard explained, finished with his little tour.

“That’s quite a lot to take in. Still, thank you for the tour. It definitely saved us some time. Especially with finding that hidden door. Only Snow would have been able to locate it.” Gene replied.

The Guard nodded. “I’m Private Night Shine and I’ll be moving into one of the first floor rooms in roughly a week. Until then, I have to return to my shift and prepare for the change of station. One final thing; all windows on the second floor are two way. You can see out but not in.”

“Thank you, Private.” Gene said, nodding to the pony. He returned the nod with a salute and then left, closing the door to the private sector of the second floor. Quickly, the pair dropped their disguises. Chrysalis looked around the hallway they were in and smiled.

“Some home, Jay.” She said, her tone cheerful and amused.

Daedalus hummed in agreement. “Let’s check out the master bedroom.”

The virus led the way into the final room, opening the door easily and stepping inside. The first thing that came to his attention was its size and structure. The bed was massive, easily large enough for seven or eight people to sleep in, with more than ample foot room. The sheets were a dark blue while the bed itself was a solid black. Over the top of the bed, with dark blue curtains, sat a large window that allowed muted light to stream in.

Two dark oak desks and a matching vanity sat fully stocked on one side of the room, with the vanity likely to remain unused. Nightstands flanked the bed, easily able to store their nightly essentials. As the Guard said, a door sat on each side of the room. Heading over to the one on the right, he was greeted by a large bathroom. The bathtub alone was massive, sized closer to a slightly enlarged hot tub than a bathtub. There was a frosted glass partition that would separate the bath from the rest of the room. Closer look showed that the ceiling of the bath contained a grid of showerheads, something Daedalus was grateful for as he preferred showers over baths. The toilet, sink, and drawers were, at the least, as he expected them to be, if slightly enlarged.

Exiting and crossing the room, he came up to the sliding door and pushed it open. Inside was the walk-in closet, a large, spacious, and mostly empty room. Two suits and two dresses hung in one corner, simple affairs meant for simple but formal occasions. Each were sized for a pony and hung on expected hangers. Throughout the closet, though, were several types of hangers, likely meant for clothes specified to his various forms he would make. The Princesses had clearly put some thought into the building.

Daedalus strode back into the main bedroom and looked the room over again. Already he noticed a small pile of paperwork on a previously empty desk, likely the paperwork Chrysalis had been organizing when they had departed. Speaking of the Queen, he looked over to see her relaxing on the large bed. The Changeling was sprawled out, stretching her muscles as much as she could from the long train ride, and still barely took up a quarter of the bed. It was just ridiculously massive, it was like the Princesses expected him to sleep as a small elephant or have an orgy.

Chrysalis stopped stretching when she noticed Daedalus looking at him. She waved him over to the bed and he did so, hopping onto it and smiling when it didn’t even creak or groan under his weight. Chrysalis walked her way over to him before pushing him flat on the bed with a hoof. When he looked at her in surprise, she leaned down and kissed him.

It was more than the kisses they had shared previously, clearly holding more emotion and more passion, though it grew no further than just a kiss. That didn’t stop the virus from eagerly returning it; any affection received from her was just as readily returned, and visa versa. When Chrysalis pulled her head back and parted from the kiss, a faint green blush had tinted her muzzle as she looked at him. “I hope you don’t mind me sleeping here tonight, and every night after that.”

“Sharing a bed? What would your subjects say?” Daedalus asked jokingly, though Chrysalis could sense the real answer in his emotions.

“That it was entirely helpful, would allow us to sleep better, make us mentally more alert, allow us to do our jobs efficiently, and would help deepen our relationship when we were ready.” Chrysalis readily listed off, not allowing his joke to continue. She may have knew the answer but she wanted to hear it from him.

He reached up and placed a hand on the side of her head, which she responded by leaning into it and smiling when his thumb began stroking her muzzle. “I would not mind it at all if you shared a bed with me, no insinuations intended. I know what you mean and I would love it.”

The Queen leaned down and kissed him again, parting soon after. “Good. Since it’s still relatively early in the morning, we can let everypony know you’re back.”

Daedalus nodded. “I’ll have to tell Fire Brand that I’m no longer staying at the tavern. I don’t know if I should still work at the Hammer and Tongs. I don’t need the job anymore since I have one for the Crown, but Coal would need the help. She’s getting more and larger orders since she has an assistant, ones she needs somepony else to help fill.”

Chrysalis lied down, resting her head on his chest and basking in the high heat he emitted. His core temperature must have been easily one hundred and fifty degrees, far above a pony’s one hundred, though his chest felt about a hundred. She hummed in thought for a moment, then spoke. “Do you enjoy working at the forge, helping Coal?”

“Yeah, I do. Maybe blacksmithing wasn’t something I did in my life, but I do enjoy it.” He replied.

“Then keep doing it. You and I don’t need to spend every moment together. That’s not healthy for any couple. You should have hobbies that you enjoy doing. I plan to find a few of my own while I’m here.” Chrysalis replied.

“Alright. I’ll take your advice and keep working at the Hammer.” He replied.

Chrysalis smiled lightly. “Now it’s time to feed me. I haven’t eaten all day.”

Daedalus chuckled, the baritone sound vibrating his chest and echoing slightly in Chrysalis’ ear. She leaned up to bite his arm, then paused and hummed lightly. Moving swiftly, she brought her muzzle up further and bit down lightly on Daedalus’ neck. Instantly, she felt him freeze and a burst of lust hit her senses even as love and lust was inhaled by her. It felt purer, more true, and tasted far sweeter than it had before. With a start, she realized why. Each time previously, Daedalus had created his pure chemical love that she had fed off of. This time, she moved spots. She was feeding off of the pure attraction that he felt for her, the very same that came from her soul and she thought she wouldn’t be able to feed off of. This was the first time she was feeding off of him.

A rumble had began in his throat when she bit down, something that quickly stopped when she finished feeding. When Chrysalis looked at Daedalus again, she paused at the lustful, predatory glare that send shivers down her spine, all the way to her tail, though she managed to keep it down. After a moment, the soft glare faded and he spoke to her. “Give me warning next time. I was torn between throwing you through a wall and dominating you.”

Chrysalis shivered again, admittedly enjoying the thought. She spoke meekly, glad to have not fully sunk her teeth into him like she considered. “Good to know. I’ll make sure to avoid that area for now.”

“I don’t mind you feeding from my neck. Clearly, I enjoy it. Just give me warning so my reflexes don’t try to take over.” Daedalus explained.

“Fair enough.” Chrysalis sound, lying on his chest again. He brought his hand up and ran it through her mane, groaning aloud after only two passes.

“What?” She asked.

“Someone’s knocking on the gate. Let’s go see who it is.” Daedalus replied, though he didn’t move.

Author's Notes:

As of right now, I still don't have a Betareader so don't hesitate to point out any errors you may find. Other than that, I suppose tell me what you think of the chapter in general. I'm always rather excited when I have a new comment to read, though I don't rightly know why.

I kinda decided to stop the weekly update and post every 3-5 days when I can. Between Chapter 15-18, I found myself keeping track of the date so I could post it as early as I could. Maybe that was a sign to up the posting speed a little?

Huh, I noticed after the publication of this chapter that my story hit 1,000 views. I must say I didn't expect it, though I'm quite happy with it. I knew from the beginning that a Prototype story wouldn't have as many views as a original one, but I tried it out anyway. Thank y'all for getting me to a thousand views, which is a lot in my opinion.